Financial Discipleship - the Bible on Ownershipنموونە

The Bible clearly states that God is sole owner of everything. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains” (Psalm 24:1). Scripture even reveals specific items God owns. Leviticus 25:23 identifies Him as owner of all the land: “The land . . . shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine.” Haggai 2:8 reveals that “‘the silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” And in Psalm 50:10, the Lord tells us: “For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”

The Lord is the Creator of all things, and He has never transferred the ownership of His creation to people. In Colossians 1:17 we are told that “in Him all things hold together.” At this very moment the Lord literally holds everything together by His power. Recognizing God’s ownership is critical in allowing Jesus Christ to become the Lord of our money and possessions.

If we are going to be genuine followers of Christ, we must transfer the ownership of our possessions to the Lord. “No one . . . can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). In my experience I have found that the Lord will sometimes test us by asking that we be willing to relinquish the very possession that is dearest to us.

Scripture’s most vivid example of this is when the Lord told Abraham, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac . . . and offer him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2). When Abraham obeyed, demonstrating his willingness to give up his most prized possession, God provided a substitute ram for the offering and Isaac was not harmed.

Outstanding author Larry Burkett observed, “When we acknowledge God’s ownership, every spending decision becomes a spiritual decision. No longer do we ask, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do with my money?’ The question is restated, “Lord, what do you want me to do with Your money?’” When we have this perspective, spending and saving decisions are equally as spiritual as giving decisions.

(excerpt taken from Your Money Counts, Howard Dayton, 2020)